I love quiche but don’t eat it very often. The low-fat versions taste like scrambled eggs with cheese and the classic versions are so rich there’s no room left for dessert. That said, the latter type quiche is the best! This week I went to lunch at a little bakery here in Chicago where they had a fantastic, non-disappointing quiche worth skipping dessert for (although they did serve it with a few grapes, if you can call grapes dessert).
After eating that quiche, I started the hunt for a classic recipe to make for parties and events. Even better, I’d use my tart pan so that I could push the quiche out of the pan, take it to an event and not worry about getting the pie plate back. This quiche, mostly courtesy of Emeril, was perfect!
I’ve already made this twice in the past couple of days — once for Fuzz and once for a school parent event. If you have any questions or a better quiche recipe, email me and let me know. I think what makes Emeril’s so good is the 2 eggs and 2 yolks plus the half & half.
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (6.8 oz/189 grams) -- or pastry flour if you have some
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter (56 grams)
- 4 tablespoons vegetable shortening (48 grams) -- Crisco or Nutiva
- Cold water or as needed
- 6 strips of thick cut bacon
- 2 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) half-and-half
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (Swiss okay, too)
- Some cut chives or herbs de provence
- Crust: In a large bowl, stir together the flour, salt and sugar. Add the butter and shortening, and using a pastry blender or your fingers, mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring gently with scraper after each addition and adding only enough of the water to make the dry ingredients moist enough to hold together.
- Squash mixture into a ball then press into a disk. Wrap in plastic and chill for one hour until ready to use.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Chill the pan with the dough for at least an hour or until ready to use.
- To pre-bake the tart shell, cover with foil and weigh down with pie weights. Set the tart shell on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, then remove foil and weights and bake for 10 minutes. Set crust aside and let cool while you make the filling.
- Filling: Cook the bacon until crisp, drain the fat and cut into 1 inch chunks. Lay bacon pieces across bottom of the baked tart shell.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks, and half and half. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk to combine. Pour into the prepared crust and bake until the custard is golden, puffed, and set yet still slightly wiggly in the center, 30 to 35 minutes.
- Let cool at room temperature, then keep chilled until ready to serve.
Looks great! We love quiche, and make it often, usually using Pillsbury pie crusts. We like to use equal parts half and half and lowfat milk — it makes it less dense.
Mmmm, bacon in quiche is the best! I’ll admit that I’ve never let a rich lunch keep me from enjoying dessert (in a small portion) 🙂